All I said
was "Thank You". I wish I had said more.
Years ago as a volunteer WFD firefighter, I awakened to the
shrill alarm of a fire call; the early morning was bitter cold, and dark. Frost came off my car windshield in chunks as
though I was defrosting a neglected freezer. Nearly an hour into the fire of an
old two-story brick building, with temperatures continuing to dip well below
freezing, my hands became one with the nozzle that I held, directing water onto
the ice-caked remnants. Crouched in a
near sitting position, in a half a foot of water, mud, and ice, I relished the
thought that ice fishing on Lake Champlain might be a nice warm getaway.
Attempting to close down the water, my hands seemed no
longer connected to me. My arms pulled
the nozzle lever closed as another firefighter took up the hose line. A short
time later, inside a Salvation Army bus, my coat and gear crackled, as bits of
ice buckled and broke off shattering on the bus floor. A Salvation Army volunteer handed me a cup of coffee; only I found I
could not grasp it with my hands. The volunteer pulled off my gloves and held
my hands for a few seconds; the shock drove into me like a lightning bolt. Pain dissolved into comfort as my hands,
slowly warmed and became flexible again.
Soon I was holding a cup of coffee, smelling and sipping an aroma from
heaven, and amazingly comforting.
Never has a cup of coffee tasted so good; seldom has a warm
and comforting hand meant so much. I
wish I had said more than mutter a shivering Thank you, to those volunteers
from the Salvation Army, who left
their warm homes on a frigid morning, to serve hot coffee, and a warm shelter,
for those in need.
An unexpected knock on our door one night, alarmed me; a
young woman crouched down on the doorstep.
“Is this your dog?” she asked.
Befuddled, I automatically looked behind me expecting to see our dogs in
our home. (Unbeknownst to me they had gone out unleashed through a cellar door
inadvertently left ajar.) She left me
with one dog, while she ran back nearly half a block to retrieve the other dog
in her car- she had spotted them in the road; one had led her back to our home.
Somewhat in shock and surprise and finally in relief, I said, “Thank you so much”. I wish I had said more, how we love our dogs,
how much we appreciate her rescue and return of our beloved pets.
Just
outside a grocery store, a young man wearing a yellow safety vest over slumped
shoulders, held his head low, while sweeping up tree litter, and people
litter-a job task not highly sought. “Nice job”. “Thank you for cleaning this
area, it looks so much better.” His chin
lifted, and a smile from within brought self-esteem to his expression. A Golden Broom Award could not have done more
to honor the fine work that young man was doing.
Thanksgiving reminds us to be thankful. Acts of kindness, on the job professionalism,
service to our country, volunteerism-deserve acknowledgement throughout the
year.
Search for
the opportunity to express your honest, genuine, sincere and specific gratitude
to someone else; acknowledge the hardship and effort and the positive results
they brought forth. Thank them, even if
it is their job, even if they are strangers-especially if they are strangers-
how better to build community?
HAPPY THANKSGIVING & HAPPY HANUKKAH TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
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